


School Dance

by ratbox



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, High School, Light Angst, Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, School Dances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 16:17:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21057326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratbox/pseuds/ratbox
Summary: (title is probably temporary)richie gets chased out of the school dance. eddie notices he's gone, and goes to find him.





	School Dance

**Author's Note:**

> hi i fucking love reddie thats it  
also there is.. a slur in this just fyi  
this is based off a tiktok i saw lol  
AND if theres any spelling/grammar mistakes im deeply sorry

  
Richie wasn’t all too excited for the school dance. It was really the last place that he wanted to be, but he was invited by the other Losers, and he couldn’t pass up an offer. So, he donned whatever he thought was deemed appropriate for a freshman year dance. It wasn’t anything special, being something that the boy would wear any other day of the week: a Hawaiian shirt, with a black t-shirt underneath, matched with a pair of jeans. Nothing special whatsoever.

There wasn’t anything to look forward to besides his friends. And Eddie, who was surprisingly allowed out of the house past eight. Richie was supposed to go and pick him up. Be some sort of chauffeur for the boy. Bold of Mrs. K to trust Richie to get Eddie to the school in one piece.

Richie left the house, and hopped onto his bike, which had been conveniently placed on the grass out front. He gripped the handlebars tightly as he started to traverse through the dark streets of his Derry neighbourhood, going quickly in the direction of Eddie’s house. They didn’t live that far apart. If Richie was going fast, he could make it in five minutes… and that, he did. Of course, he was out of breath by the time he got there, but he was fine. He knocked thrice on the door, and waited for an answer.

It didn’t take long for the shorter boy to come to the door with a smile plastered to his face. Richie looked down to him. “Jesus. You look like you just kissed a girl for the first time.”

“Shut up, Richie.” He turned, and poked his head into the living room. “I’m leaving, mama.”

Richie didn’t hear much of their conversation, only picking up on the small things. Be home by eleven, don’t get lost, if anyone offers you drugs decline them… motherly things. Then, after an awkward kiss to his mother’s cheek, Eddie was set free for the night. He left the house, and grabbed his bike from the lawn, rolling it out to the street.

The two started to make their way towards the school after a few minutes of preparation. Eddie had started to use his puffer again, only because he was confirmed to have asthma, so he was carrying his fanny pack like he had before. Richie had picked on him for it for a while, but left it alone after a month or so. “What do you think this is going to be like?” Eddie asked Richie as they rode beside each other.

Richie shrugged. “Don’t know. First high school dance… should be something to write home about, right?”

“Hopefully.” Eddie replied. “Would hate for this to be lame as shit.”

Their brakes were pulled as they made it to their school. They tossed them onto the lawn, and rushed up to meet with the other Losers who had arrived before them. They weren’t late, but certainly weren’t on schedule either. Richie and Eddie paused once they were in front of them.

“Y-you rode here?” Bill questioned.

“The fuck else were we supposed to do? Call a god damn taxi?” Richie asked.

“No, I-I just thought that-- that maybe Eddie’s mom would have d-drove you.”

“Yeah, right.” Eddie scoffed. “No matter how paranoid she is about me being out this late, she wouldn’t want to go driving this late.”

Stan laughed softly. “Weird.”

“Tell me about it.” Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Where’s Ben?” Richie asked. “Bail?”  
  
Bill nodded. “Yeah. He c-cancelled last m… m-minute. Told me he had homework, or-or something.” He shrugged. “I-I just think he d-didn’t want to go.”

“Neither did I.” Richie said. “But here I am.”

“It’s part of the high school experience.” Eddie added.

“Guess so.” Richie shrugged. There were a lot of things that were also a part of the high school experience. They didn’t necessarily have to take the infamous school dance into consideration. There was many other things they could be doing… sneaking out to drink, and smoke ciagrettes, having sex or something, playing spin the bottle… those were things that freshmen did, right? Maybe not the sex part. The other two? Definitely. Richie was sure of it.

“Well, then, let’s get this “experience” going, hey?” Stan recommended. He was supposed to leave early, only going to be able to stay about an hour or so. He wanted to get the most in. “Do you think someone’s going to spike the punch like in movies?”

“Not everything is a movie, Stanley.” Richie said. “So far, high school has been nothing like the Pretty in Pink, or Heathers.”

“M-maybe middle school was more like H-Heathers.” Bill said, starting to walk up the front doors of the school.. If Heathers had a murderous clown in the midst of it, then yes, definitely. It definitely did have murder, that much was in common.

Richie shrugged, following Bill. “Maybe so.”

They entered the building. On the walls, were streamers, and balloons. Very festive. A large banner hung from the ceiling, welcoming students, and telling them to go to the gym. Music had already filled the school, echoing from down the hall.

“This is intense.” Eddie said, looking around. “Seems a bit crazy for just a small dance. It’s not like it’s homecoming or anything.”

“Intense, Eds? What’s intense is your mom--”

“Shut up, Richie.” Eddie interupted him, shaking his head.

Richie laughed, and nudged Eddie playfully. The group entered the gym, and looked around at the decorations. It was definitely a lot louder once you were actually inside. Groups of kids danced along to Toto’s ‘Africa’ at the moment. Richie pushed up his glasses, already spotting Belch Huggins, and Victor Criss. The last two survivors of the Bowers’ Gang. He swallowed roughly, and glanced over to the group.

“The fuck are we supposed to do?” Stan asked, yelling over the music. “Just stand and look cool?”

“If your plan is to get pussy tonight, no.” Richie replied. “I don’t know. Go and dance or some shit. Try to fit in for once in our pathetic lives.”

“Shut up, R-Richie.” Bill shook his head. “B-but yeah. Let’s go t-try and fit in.”

Eddie nodded in agreement. The four moved to the centre of the gym, and started to sway to the music, which had changed to Take on Me by a-ha. Richie was doing more singing than dancing, catching Eddie’s attention with a soft laugh. Richie looked over to him, and flipped him off, stopping his singing to move his body in an attempt to dance instead.

A few more songs came, and went. Radio Ga Ga, Summer of ‘69, Don’t You Forget About Me… Richie eventually left the group to explore the table that had been set up with drinks, and snacks. He sighed, and grabbed a Red Solo cup, filling it up with water. He quickly downed the drink, and turned to return to the group. He was stopped by Belch, who was towering over him. His eyes widened, and he turned to go the other way, only to be stopped by Victor.

“Where do you think you’re going, faggot?”

“Who’re you here with?” Victor glanced over, and smirked. “Shocker… Flamer, Stutter, and Freak.”

“Fuck off.” Richie moved to escape, being grabbed by the arms by Belch.

“If Henry were here, he’d be beating your ass… we might have to avenge him by doing the same.” Victor said. Richie swallowed roughly, squirming to escape Belch’s grasp. “What’re you going to do, Four-Eyes? Fuck me?”

Richie swallowed roughly. He brought his knee up, leaving Victor grabbing at his groin, kneeling over. Belch let go to help his friend, and Richie quickly ran off.

“The fuck are you doing, dude? Go fucking get him!” Victor ordered. He’d taken over the lead of the gang now that Henry was gone. He pointed towards Richie, who was booking it out of the gym, and into the hallway. Belch quickly followed after him.

Richie ran as fast as he could. His sneakers squeaked against the tile of the school’s floor. His heart thumped against his chest. And he tripped over himself. He fell to the ground, and winced. But there was no time for pain. He pushed himself up, and flew around corners, finding himself in a hallway, ducked behind a trashcan. He brought his legs up to his chest, and fought back the urge to cry. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping that his hiding place was good enough.

And, it was. Belch gave up searching, and returned to Victor. They’d get him next time. Richie was safe for now.

After all of that, though, he definitely wasn’t going to be returning to the gym anytime soon. He’d just listen to the music from afar. He hugged his legs to his chest, catching his breath. This was exactly why he didn’t want come. His fear of being attacked.

Eddie had started to get worried. Richie hadn’t returned. He had a bad feeling in his chest, and he moved to check the snack table. He swallowed roughly when his friend wasn’t there. He returned to the group. “Hey, guys. I’m going to go and check for Richie.”

Bill nodded. “I’m leaving with S-Stan, so if-if you’re not back b-before we go, uh… thanks for coming.”

“Yeah. For sure. See you, guys.” Eddie nodded, before rushing off to find Richie. He took his puffer out of his fanny pack, and shook it a few times before taking a hit. He stuffed it back inside, and started to traverse through the hallways. “Rich? Richie, where the fuck are you, dude?”

Richie had moved so that he was leaning against the lockers, head in his hands. Tears had started to collect on the lenses of his glasses, and his heart ached. He only looked up when he heard a familiar voice coming down the hallway.

“Richie?” Eddie called out, though staying a tad hushed. He peaked around a corner, spotting the boy he’d been looking for. “Shit. Richie…”

Richie looked over to Eddie as he came down the hallway. “Eds..?”

“Dude, where the fuck… why did you leave?” Eddie asked, rushing over to his side. He leaned down in front of him. He looked worried.

“Victor, and Belch... “ Richie shook his head. “Chased me out. Well, more just Belch. I kneed Victor in the dick.”

Eddie moved so that he was sitting beside the other. “Shit. Rich, I’m sorry.”

“Nothing you could do.” Richie sighed. “You came looking for me?”

“Yeah. I was worried.” Eddie looked down, his face heating up.

“Aww, little Eddie was scared--”

“Shut the fuck up, Richie. I care about you. I was worried you were hurt.” Eddie said, defensively. “You’re not hurt, right?”

“Physically? Nah. Busted my knee a little while I was running. Tripped on my own god damn feet.” Richie laughed in spite of himself. He frowned, and brought his legs down from his chest. He leaned his head against the lockers. “You shouldn’t have come looking for me. You should be back in there enjoying yourself.”

“Hard to enjoy myself when you’re sitting here upset.” Eddie said. He put a hand on Richie’s shoulder, which caused the boy to blush. “They’re relentless. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Richie said. “I just… I think I’m going to go home.”

“I’m going with you. Bill and Stan are leaving anyway.” Eddie replied. “Plus, if I come home without you my mom will flip.”

Richie hesitated for a moment, before turning his body, and latching onto Eddie. He wrapped his arms around him tightly, and closed his eyes. “Thank you for caring.”

Eddie was taken aback for a moment. He slowly wrapped his own arms around Richie, holding him close. “You don’t need to thank me. Jesus, Trashmouth… I don’t think I’ve ever seen this side of you.”

“Well, don’t hold your fucking horses to see it again.” Richie said. He pulled back, and sniffled. He patted Eddie’s shoulder, before pushing himself up. “It’s just nice to know that someone cares.”

Eddie smiled softly. He pushed himself up, and looked up to Richie. “That’s what friends are for.”

  
Richie wrapped an arm around Eddie’s shoulder, starting to walk with him. Eddie moved into Richie’s side, finding himself encased with appreciation in that moment. For a moment, he was lost in his thoughts, thinking about himself and Richie. It would be a wonder to know that Richie felt the same way, but Eddie would never say a word. And neither would Richie. The most he would do was wrap his arm around the boy, and walked out of the school with him, avoiding the gym at all costs.

They made it outside, without a single bruise or slur being yelled at them. They both grabbed their bikes, and started to ride in the direction of Richie’s house. They both threw their bikes down once they’d made it, and entered the house, going up to Richie’s room.

Richie turned on his stereo, and put the tape he’d made inside the tape player. Bohemian Rhapsody was first on the track. The two started to sing along dramatically, laughing ever so often. Eddie never wanted this night to end, and neither did Richie. They should have done this in the first place. This was much better than being at a school dance. This was just them, enjoying a moment together. And it was a wonderful thing


End file.
